Feb
12
Jan
12
One Leg Closer to Miami Florida.
This Saturday, January 14th, 66 sailors from around the globe, participating in the Volvo Ocean Race will leave Abu Dhabi and embark on the 5,294 miles to Sanya China. They will cross the Bay of Bengal, a historic body of water that according to the world of Wiki, claims to be the location where in 1850, the American clipper brig ‘Eagle’ sank. It’s the largest bay in the world, forming the northeastern corner of the Indian Ocean.
From there, they will tackle a tricky strip of water called the Malacca Straight, sandwiched between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. In past, it’s been well recognized as an area of high piracy due to the wealth of goods shipped from India to Western ports. In modern day, albeit an area of high traffic, one of the safer stretches for today’s mariners. It will however be an extremely tricky passage for our sailors. The winds are fickled. There will be large shipping vessels that will barely notice a 70 foot sailing ship, and fishing boats without equipment to even see an Open Volvo 70 sailing towards them!
Once they exit the straight, it becomes a more arduous sail North to China’s own “Hawaiian” island destination of Sanya. Though it will still be winter in the northern hemisphere, it’s tropical location of 18° 15′ N latitude has it nearly the same distance North of the equator as the American island of Hawaii, and hence the nickname! When the sailors arrive to this beautiful venue, they will have completed leg three and one more stage closer to joining us in Miami.
Meet the Sailors in Bicentennial Park!
For many in North America, Sanya, China is a long trip to meet these adventurers. Now, if we either stay put here in Miami, or plan a small holiday, they will come to us in just under 120 days! Now’s a great time to start planning your trip to Southern Florida! Whether on your own, a young couple, or outgoing family. Our town has everything from the Metrozoo, to the Miami Heat. Easy access to both the Biscayne and Everglades National Parks. Some of the world’s most beautiful stretch of beaches. Love food? After welcoming the sailors, one could easily spend the rest of their travels exploring the area like a local, and dining at award winning restaurants.
However, don’t stray too far! While the Volvo Ocean Race is in town, the place to “Sea and B Seen” will be Bicentennial Park. All the action kicks – off May 6th and if you follow us on Twitter or join the conversation on Facebook, we’ll help you plan your trip to Miami. Check back often, and stay connected to the 66 amazing individuals racing their respective 70 foot sailboats to Miami. Together, we’ll all making the one and only North American stop-over for this historical race an event to remember.…
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Jan
12
The Unpredictable Plot
The Volvo Ocean Race is a nine month story for the armchair sailor, while being a “choose-your-own-adventure” for the participating teams. At home, we enjoy creature comforts. We play the virtual game, pretending to live a life at the extreme, meanwhile tending to family, work, and drier amenities. The teams carry the weight of the world as they race around it trying to out play, out maneuver, and out sail their competitors.
Currently, this edition of the Volvo Ocean Race has the Spanish team of Telefonica leading the scoreboard and out sailing the entire fleet with the rare instance when the French team of Groupama snuck past them on the final sprint into Abu Dhabi. Each team chooses how they sail. They choose which course of action they feel gives them the winning edge. Each team has their own way of racing around the globe. Who will be the overall winner?
No different than a novel, it’s too early to say how the ending will be. Unlike a book, we can’t sneak a peek at the last chapter to see who will be the winner. Thank goodness, because what fun would it be if we had the whole story figured out. Instead, we have the opportunity to be apart of this tale. We have time to watch the story develop, learn more about the teams and their sailors: people from around the globe with a passion for adventure.
Coming to Miami, Florida
It seems fitting that this race and it’s participants would make their way to Miami, Florida. One of the most international cities in the world. A town full of people from all walks of life. Each capable of relating to this cast of characters. If you’ve ever played a sport, attempted something that scares you, have a family, or started your own business; each of you has something in common with the members of anyone of the teams participating in the Volvo Ocean Race.
This event, coming to Miami in early May, is built up of people just like any one person reading this blog post. They are fathers, brothers, sons, and best friends to someone. They are doing their job to the best of their abilities. They are working as a team to win, and achieve something greater than themselves. They are dealing with Mother Nature and a daily unknown. They are people, just like you and I.
The residents and guest of Miami will get to meet these amazing crews any day after May 6th, and their story on how they’ve gotten to Miami will be unique and special. It will be thrilling and emotional. We have no idea who will be the first to arrive, but all we hope is they all arrive safely! We hope to be gracious host. For many, this will be their first time to our exotic city, full of history and heritage. Their families will patiently wait at Bicentennial Park for their arrival and we will all be there to support them.
Be Apart of the Story
We are but a chapter in the Volvo Ocean Race, and by getting involved, you become a supporting member to it’s story. The team in Miami is feverishly preparing for their arrival and we hope you’ll lend a hand in making our contribution remarkable. In the mean-time, stop back often as we continue to learn more about each team and it’s sailors. It’s our hope to help you better connect with the race, and it’s sailors. The “characters” who will continue to capture our imaginations for the next 120+ days.
You can further interact with us and the event by visiting our Fan Page and following us on Twitter. We are extremely excited to be the only North American stop-over for this historic event. Thank you for being apart of its story!
Current Rankings (1/10/2012)
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Dec
11
Only four boats were left racing in the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race on Friday after Abu Dhabi became the second team to pull out because of damage to the yacht. The Emirati team, skippered by Britain’s Ian Walker, sustained a broken mast within hours of the start of the race last Saturday.
The team managed to get a replacement mast delivered back to Alicante and fitted in time to return to the water on Wednesday for the first leg to Cape Town, South Africa. But, after two nights at sea, the team decided the mast and rigging would require more work to avoid more problems later in the race. “This has been one of the hardest decisions of my life to make but I have to consider not only the safety of the crew but the long-term interests of the project,” Walker said by satellite phone from the boat. “This is only the first leg of a long race and with this decision and a lot of hard work we can be race ready for leg two.” Abu Dhabi plans to ship the boat from Lisbon on Monday, to arrive in South Africa about Nov. 27.
Sanya, the only Chinese entry, lasted less than 24 hours before pulling out of the leg after sustaining a massive hole in the bow during brutal conditions in the Mediterranean on the first night. Sanya is also shipping its stricken boat to South Africa.
The second in-port race will be held in Cape Town on Dec. 10, with the second leg to Abu Dhabi starting the following day.
The race, which is in its 11th edition, began with a smaller fleet than usual after struggling to get teams to commit to expensive campaigns during the current financial crisis.…
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Dec
11
Volvo Ocean Race, an extreme global sailing race that takes contestants around the world, will partner with Sony Music Entertainment U.S. Latin for its only U.S. stop. It’s planned to take place in Miami in May.
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Sony will produce four major entertainment events as part of the “Beyond Water Festival,” to be held May 6-20 in Miami’s Bicentennial Park. The events will include both Latin and mainstream entertainment, culminating with an international concert during the closing weekend. “Teaming up with the Volvo Ocean Race in Miami gives us the opportunity to be part of a unique international event and to bring entertainment to the South Florida community in a one-of-a-kind setting,” said Ruben Leyva, president of Sony Music ntertainment U.S. Latin. No artists have been confirmed yet, Leyva said.
Sony, like all Latin labels, has been actively looking for new and innovative partnerships in the last year. The Volvo Ocean Race certainly fits the bill for a different kind of collaboration. The nine-month race kicks off in Alicante, Spain, on Nov. 5 and ends in Galway, Ireland, in July, with teams sailing across 39,000 nautical miles.
The two-week festival in Miami is the first-ever and is expected to raise the event’s profile in North America.
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Nov
11
ALICANTE, Spain – After some friendly jousting in the calm waters off the Alicante coast, it’s time for the real racing to begin in the Volvo Ocean Race. [Fuente: Miami Herald]
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Nov
11
ALICANTE, Spain – Two of the six boats in the Volvo Ocean Race have temporarily stopped racing due to a broken mast and damaged hull inside the first 24 hours of the opening leg and amid brutal sea conditions in the Mediterranean. [Fuente: Miami Herald]
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Nov
11
El pasado 5 de noviembre comenzó la gran regata VOLVO OCEAN RACE que tuvo su salida del puerto de Alicante, en España, y que en su primera etapa incluye un recorrido de unas 6.500 millas náuticas hasta Sudáfrica. [Fuente: Noticias España Miami]
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Oct
11
Volvo Ocean Race team Puma Ocean Racing powered by BERG Propulsion’s new Volvo Open has visited Miami, USA, after being on the water for three weeks.
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Oct
11
This most-extreme sportis not for those that possess“sanity,” at least in the traditionalsense. Most boatersstridently avoid storms;Read and his 10 crewmateswill seek them out. (That’swhere the strongest windsare found.)Come October, essentialeveryday items will becomeneedless — if not impossible— luxuries. Stufflike clean clothes. Like anight of undisturbed sleep.Heck, like a shower or anormal-sized toothbrush.
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